Ergonomic Guidelines for Nursing Homes - Seton Resource Center

Section I. Introduction
Nursing homes that have implemented injury prevention efforts focusing on
resident lifting and repositioning methods have achieved considerable success in reducing
work-related injuries and associated workers' compensation costs. Providing a safer and
more comfortable work environment has also resulted in additional benefits for some
facilities, including reduced staff turnover and associated training and administrative
costs, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, improved employee morale, and
increased resident comfort. These guidelines provide recommendations for employers to
help them reduce the number and severity of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in
their facilities using methods that have been found to be successful in the nursing home
environment.
Wyandot County Nursing Home in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, has implemented a policy
of performing all assisted resident transfers with mechanical lifts, and has purchased
electrically adjustable beds. According to Wyandot no back injuries from resident
lifting have occurred in over five years. The nursing home also reported that
workers’ compensation costs have declined from an average of almost $140,000 per
year to less than $4,000 per year, reduced absenteeism and overtime have resulted in
annual savings of approximately $55,000, and a reduction in costs associated with
staff turnover has saved an additional $125,000 (1). (see Reference List)
Providing care to nursing home residents is physically demanding work. Nursing
home residents often require assistance to walk, bathe, or perform other normal daily
activities. In some cases residents are totally dependent upon caregivers for mobility.
Manual lifting and other tasks involving the repositioning of residents are associated with
an increased risk of pain and injury to caregivers, particularly to the back (2, 3). These
tasks can entail high physical demands due to the large amount of weight
involved, awkward postures that may result from leaning over a bed or
working in a confined area, shifting of weight that may occur if a resident
loses balance or strength while moving, and many other factors. The risk
factors that workers in nursing homes face include:
• Force – the amount of physical effort required to perform a task
(such as heavy lifting) or to maintain control of equipment or tools;
• Repetition – performing the same motion or series of motions
continually or frequently; and
• Awkward postures – assuming positions that place stress on the
body, such as reaching above shoulder height, kneeling, squatting,
leaning over a bed, or twisting the torso while lifting (3).
Excessive exposure to these risk factors can result in a variety of
disorders in affected workers (3, 5). These conditions are collectively
After implementing a
program designed to
eliminate manual lifting
of residents, Schoellkopf
Health Center in
Niagara Falls, New
York, reported a
downward trend in the
number and severity of
injuries, with lost
workdays dropping from
364 to 52, light duty days
dropping from 253 to 25,
and workers’
compensation losses
falling from $84,533 to
$6,983 annually (4).
4